The Date
by actionman81
Summary: Elliot and Olivia's dinner date doesn't go as planned. This picks up where The Set Up left off. It can be read as a sequel to The Set Up, or can be read as a stand alone story.
1. Chapter 1

Friday Night

Elliot stood in Olivia's living room, a smile fixed to his face, "I-"  
Olivia smiled at him and formally shook his hand, "Nice to meet you"  
Amanda Rollins looked on, not comprehending the unsaid meaning of the pair's meeting, "Well" she interjected after a few moments of silence. The two stood frozen, like dolls in a child's play scenario, "Y'all have a good time tonight" she shooed them out of the door, walked out and shut it behind her  
"Err, right" Olivia nodded mechanically  
"Yeah" Elliot tipped an imaginary hat to Amanda, took Olivia's hand and they walked down the hallway  
"Strangest first meeting, ever" Amanda thought to herself

"So you make bedsheets now?" Olivia smiled. She sat across from Elliot at the restaurant. The meal had been ordered and the pair waited for their food to arrive, but neither of them was thinking about that right now.  
"Something like that" he grinned  
"No really, how did Eli come up with that?" Eli Stabler, Elliot's son had set up an elaborate plan, elaborate for a young child, with Nick Amaro's daughter Zara to get Elliot and Olivia together on Valentine's Day  
"Liv, I have to tell you something" he glanced around furtively, "but this isn't the place"  
"I guess I should be glad I didn't suggest sushi" she joked and tried to soften the moment  
"Bing Bang Bong" Elliot echoed Dale Stuckey's catchphrase  
Olivia's smile fell, "I shouldn't have brought that up" she remembered Ryan O'Halloran, the Medical Examiner who had been killed by the "talk too much tech" as Elliot had called Stuckey  
"It's ok" Elliot forced a smile, "Right now" he reached across the table and took her hand, "I just want to enjoy this time with you. There's nobody to chase after or catch, just us"  
"We've done a lot of chasing, haven't we?" she joked  
Elliot smiled and nodded, "I guess you could say we've been doing a fifteen yearlong dance"  
"Maybe we should rest our feet for a change" she toyed with her food and gazed at him  
"I-" he began, then frowned  
"Elliot?" she looked concerned  
"Uh" he looked down  
"What is it?"  
"Work" he was abrupt, "I've got to go"  
"Right now?"  
"Liv, you know how it is"  
"I do" she sighed  
A shot rang out. Elliot and Olivia's eyes flew to the shot's direction  
"Police!" Olivia shouted and brandished a pistol from her purse  
"Stop!" Elliot wielded his own handgun  
They stared down at a lone marksman, a restaurant patron who held a server at gunpoint  
He fired straight at them  
Elliot pushed Olivia out of the way  
In a moment he was on top of her as he shielded her from the bullet's trajectory  
"Get up" the man stood above them  
Elliot remained motionless. He didn't dare let Olivia be hurt  
"I said get up" the man kicked Elliot  
Elliot sighed and slowly stood. The man smiled, "Finally found you, Jim"  
Olivia looked stunned. Her mind raced at the possibilities  
"Come with me" he grabbed Elliot's collar and took a step towards the door. He stopped, and eyed Olivia  
"Leave her out of this" Elliot managed to get the words out, the man's knuckles pressed into his neck  
The man looked up and down Olivia. She wore a red evening dress, her black overcoat lay on the chair back, "Naw" he drawled, "And let this darling go? Forget it" he holstered his pistol and took Olivia by her arm and proceeded to lead them out the door  
"For God's sakes, somebody call the police" a patron shouted  
Olivia winced and she knew she couldn't do much in this situation. Their guns had fallen when Elliot had covered her as protection from the shooter. To try to fight back now might result in innocent civilians being hurt. Now was not the time to play hero.


	2. Chapter 2

Elliot and Olivia found their hands bound with plastic zip ties. They were led across the parking lot.  
"Get in there" the man shoved them into the back of a windowless van  
Elliot stared at Olivia. Somehow, it was as though she could read his mind. Just as oddly, there were times when he could just as well read hers  
The van barreled on through the night. The pair listened for auditory cues that might give them information on where they were. They strained their ears, but the ride seemed as silent as a tomb, except for the hum of the motor and the rumble of the tires over the asphalt

Minutes turned to hours. Though they forced themselves to stay awake, the ride lulled the pair to sleep. Olivia leaned against Elliot, her head rested against his shoulder  
Olivia slept, lost in her dream. She was back in the hospital,  
"Who's Elliot" the redhead teenage girl in the bed next to her asked  
"Huh?" Olivia looked over at her, not comprehending at all  
"You've been mumbling the name "Elliot" all night"  
Olivia looked at her with worry, "I didn't say anything else, did I?"  
"No" the girl looked blankly at her  
"You sure?"  
"All I could make out was "Elliot". So spill, who is he?" she asked  
Olivia whispered, " Nobody"  
"He doesn't sound like nobody" the girl mocked Olivia's intonation, "Elliot- Elliot—"

Elliot drooped his head. Lost in his own dream, he relived their conversation after he'd frozen when Olivia's throat had been slit. His hesitation had cost him a victim as well as the perpetrator.  
"If that sniper hadn't beaten you to it... I know you would have taken that shot, Olivia"  
"No, I wouldn't have. Did you really expect me to? Did you really expect me to cause your death? What about your kids?" Olivia was beside herself  
"I don't know. I just couldn't get that boy out of my head"  
Olivia's voice was barely audible, "What about me?"  
Elliot stared ahead of him and didn't look at her, "Look, we both chose each other over the job. We can never let that happen again. Otherwise... we can't be partners"  
Olivia was shocked, "I can't believe you're saying that"  
Elliot sighed, "Look, you and this job are about the only things that I've got got anymore. I don't want to wreck that. I couldn't take it"

The van stopped abruptly and Elliot and Olivia fell over with the momentum.  
"Huh?" Olivia's voice told Elliot she was as disoriented as he was  
"We're here" the driver called out, oddly pleased  
"We've got to find a way to contact SVU" Olivia whispered  
"There'll be none of that" a familiar voice answered her before Elliot could  
Stabler straightened up, his brows furrowed, "Cap?" he was hesitant  
"Let them out" Donald Cragen's voice echoed from outside the van's doors  
"Captain?" Olivia stepped out of the van  
"I'm not your Captain anymore" he smiled  
"What's all this about?" she wanted to know  
"Ask your former partner" Cragen motioned to Elliot, who'd stepped out of the van  
"Our hands?" Elliot held up his bound wrists  
Cragen pulled out a pocket knife and deftly slit their bindings, "You need to be much more carful Elliot"  
"What are you talking about?" Elliot frowned  
"What if someone else had seen you two together?"  
"We were in a public restaurant" Elliot explained, "it was inevitable"  
"And who's idea was that?" Cragen frowned  
"It is Valentine's Day?" Elliot sighed  
"We were set up on a blind date" Olivia offered  
"That may be" Cragen motioned them to follow him, "but as long as you're here Olivia, I may as well let you know what's going on" he opened a door and led them down a hallway to a small office  
"If I may sir" Olivia began, "what happened to your cruise?"  
Cragen smiled, "Just be glad that Eileen as understanding about all this" he turned to the pair, "Elliot, is there anything you'd like to tell your former partner, now Sargent Benson?"  
Elliot looked at her and put on a sheepish grin, "Surprise"  
Olivia's face darkened, "You were in on this?"

"Not exactly" he began, but she cut him off  
"And what about the shooting tonight? I suppose this was part of some sort of sting operation"  
"That was my decision" Cragen interjected, "I needed a way to get you both out of there. Being seen together would jeopardize Elliot's undercover assignment"  
"Undercover" Olivia echoed. She frowned, "bedsheets" she realized aloud  
"I understand that you're angry and-"  
Olivia turned on him, "Elliot, angry does not even begin to describe how I feel. How could you do something like this to me? What if I was needed tonight?"  
"Fin's there, those new detectives are there" he reasoned  
"What do you know about them?"  
"Whatever I've told him" Cragen put in  
Olivia was silent for a moment  
"And Sargent" Cragen finished, "try to understand that this wasn't to undermine your authority, but instead it was to keep you safe"  
"From who?"  
"From the people I've been tailing" Elliot explained, "for the past few years"  
The realization hit Olivia, "How long has this been going on?"  
"From the day I left Special Victims" he sighed, "this decision cost me everything, my family, my respect, and most of all, it cost me you" he turned to her  
"You were the one who was never -" she stopped and the enormity of the operation washed over her, "you couldn't" she finally said  
"That was also my call" Cragen explained, "you wouldn't believe how stubborn he is"  
"Try me" Olivia's face broke into a smile. It was fleeting, "How did you keep this under wraps?" this question was directed at Cragen  
"I wasn't originally in charge of this. My retirement and unfortunately some other things fell into place"  
"Unfortunately?" Olivia was lost again  
"Let's start from the beginning" Cragen started. Until now, everyone had been standing up. For the first time since they arrived, he motioned towards two chairs that stood in front of the battered desk. The "office", if it could even be called that, was a sad parody of Cragen's office at SVU. If he'd joked that Olivia should do something with the place, it was clear that Cragen wasn't taking his own advice in this makeshift control center  
Cragen caught Olivia's eye movement, "Guess I should've listened to myself" his voice seemed to echo her own thoughts, "When I was brought onto this, Elliot had already been undercover for years, and I just filled in the spot for a leader. It was good to see him again"  
"It is" Olivia smiled for the second time that night. She glanced over to her former partner. Tonight had been the start of so many things, so many new beginnings as it were. She stole a look at her wristwatch and noted the time  
Elliot leaned towards her, "We'll get out in time for dessert" he grinned  
"I'll choose to ignore that" Cragen sighed like an over vigilant father, "but for now, let me fill you in" he spoke to Olivia, "In the summer of 2011—" he started


	3. Chapter 3

"We've been tracking a possible child molester" Cragen began  
"For three years?" Olivia sounded incredulous  
"It's not that simple" Elliot interjected, but let his CO continue  
"Every time we think we've got ahold of him, something happens" Cragen shook his head, "The children are usually left alive after days or months of abuse, but he's given them something. They can't remember anything. The hardest part is when they ask us what happened"  
"What about psychotherapy, repressed memories, anything?" Olivia asked  
"Huang is still in Oklahoma, so whatever shrinks we have access to just aren't cutting it" Cragen was firm  
"I've been trying to keep this guy from slipping through my fingers" Elliot explained, "but it's not easy"  
"And the whole reason for abducting me?" Olivia frowned at the two men  
"We're not sure if he's on to us or not" Cragen sighed, "Seeing Elliot with his guard down" he motioned to the two of them, "might have helped, or he may have taken that opportunity to nab another child"  
"Right now" Elliot interrupted, "the courts are doing what they can to keep a log of what he's doing, but until we can find a child who can prove a credible witness, let alone testify in open court, catching this guy is our only shot"  
"Now that I'm here, do you expect me to just leave him" she referred to Elliot  
"The most I can tell you is that while I am acting as his commanding officer, whatever else you two do is between yourselves" a small smile escaped Cragen's lips, "if you're going to commit to this, I'll see if I can get John back from the DA's office and have him hold the fort down, so to speak" he moved to pick up the phone receiver  
"It's Valentine's Day" Olivia reasoned, "will he be free" she asked rhetorically  
Cragen grinned and held the receiver, "Bad enough that he pointed to his two ex-wives in the crowd and said they wanted to have a three-way - but with his brother" he put the receiver to his ear and mouth, "John, It's Don" there was a pause, "Yes, your former Captain" he smiled, "There's something I need you to take care of for me—" he waved the pair away from the desk  
Olivia and Elliot stood and took their cue left the makeshift office.  
"We don't know if this guy is going to grab another kid, but" Elliot turned to Olivia, "at the risk of sounding inappropriate, I'm glad you're here"  
"How would that be inappropriate?" she raised an eyebrow at him  
"Nothing" he shook his head  
She stopped him, "Elliot. Before we get caught up in this case, I'm really glad we got to spend Valentine's Day together, at least part of it" she took his hand  
"Yeah" he nodded, "me too" he squeezed her hand. He sighed, "I really want to show you how glad I am" he looked back at Cragen's office and then turned to her, "but there's so much going on"  
She nodded in agreement, "When we catch this guy, we'll celebrate it" she gave him a knowing look

SVU Squadroom

"What's going on here?" Nick Amaro turned back from taking a peek into Olivia's office, "Munch moved in awhile back but he's not saying anything"  
"What do you expect?" Fin leaned back in his desk chair, "It's the most romantic day of the year, and Olivia's on a date. Somebody's got to keep this place from burning down, right?"  
"Sure but" Nick agreed, "hey, aren't you seeing someone, but you're all alone tonight"  
"I might ask you the same thing" Fin laughed, "You and Rollins just got coffee, huh?" he winked at the detective  
"It was just coffee" Nick frowned  
"Sure" Fin turned back to his paperwork, "keep telling yourself that"  
"I will" Amaro shook his head in disbelief at his colleague. He didn't want to admit the truth to Fin, or to himself.

Undercover

Benson and Stabler poured over the paperwork in an adjacent room. The four walls looks more like the interrogation rooms than any sort of office. Everything was gray, varying only in shades and hues. Olivia reached for a sheet of paper; her arm brushed against Elliot's shoulder. Immediately, he felt a charge course through him. It killed him to be so close to her, yet not be able to do anything. Of course, this was different than when he was married, both to Kathy and his job. Now, there truly was nothing holding him back, except professional courtesy and their agreement to wait until the case was solved  
"Different neighborhoods" Olivia scanned the print outs, "different circles of friends, different schools" she ran her finger over information pieces  
"What about bus routes?" Elliot drew at straws  
"They're different too" Olivia shook her head with dismay  
"Every time we try to interview one of them" he referred to the victims, "it was the same story- their minds are blank. They remember going to school and then they're left on a curb or hospital or shelter, days or even months later" he looked at her but wasn't seeing her- instead, he was seeing the countless faces of children, boys and girls, who'd been interviewed.  
"How could this have gone on under our radar?" Olivia wondered aloud  
"NYPD has a lot on its plate" he rationalized  
"Not enough for this" she sighed  
There was silence, yet it was so deafening, Olivia felt forced to speak, just to break it.  
"Come back" she looked intently at him, "We need you"  
Elliot sighed  
Olivia drew out the big guns, "I need you"  
"You?" he laughed good naturedly, "you're in charge now. They're your kids" he referred to the other detectives  
"How can you be happy here?" she confronted him, "Cragen won't stay here long, he said himself that he's filling in as a stop gap" she thumbed towards the other rom that their former captain used as an office  
"I—I've moved on" he finally replied  
"To what; to this?" she put her hands up and motioned with them, as if the four gray walls they sat in were nothing compared to the life at SVU  
"I'm doing something. It's in my blood" he explained, "but you know me. I've got to do things the way I do them"  
"You said yourself that I'm in charge. Things could work out if you came back"  
"I can't Olivia" he stood up and turned to go, "I just can't"


	4. Chapter 4

SVU Squadroom

"What do you want me to do Cassidy?" Munch put his hands up in desperation, "I can't go track down your ex for you"  
"She's not my – well, she" he stumbled over his words  
"As every other corporate drone would say, I'm only following orders" he stared at Cassidy from behind his tinted glasses  
"Fine, I'll go find her on my own" he turned and left in a huff  
"Don't say I didn't warn you" Munch sighed, "Seriously"

Undercover

"Elliot, wait" Olivia stood, but Elliot had left the room  
"You wouldn't understand" he walked down the hallway. Her walk turned into a slow jog to catch up to him  
"What wouldn't I understand?" her voice made him stop and turn around  
"Why I left" he exhaled, "Why I didn't come back"  
"The shooting, Jenna, all of that" she enumerated, "another round with IAB"  
"No" his voice was forceful, too much so. Olivia stopped suddenly  
"It was me" she realized, "If I—I hadn't – we were too close"  
"No" his voice softened, "It wasn't that at all"  
"And now, you said you moved on. You mean you're over –" she couldn't finish her sentence  
"Olivia" he put his hands on her shoulders. She was shivering, "You must be freezing" she just had on her evening dress. Her coat was still slung over the chair in the restaurant, "here' he slipped off his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders  
She smiled, "You always thought about me" she looked away, 'so why was this so different"  
"I moved on from the NYPD, from SVU" he paused.  
He moved closer, "I could never move on past you"  
She looked at him, "But – Kathy, the kids"  
"My kids are my world"  
Olivia sighed  
"And so are you" he pulled her into a hug, "It's complicated. I just can't be there anymore. I can't work there anymore, but that doesn't mean things have to change between us"  
"Things already changed" she murmured against his chest, "You were gone for three years"  
"I was gone because I had to work. You were there all the time, immersed in work, and" he stopped  
"And?"  
"I know about Cassidy"  
"You were spying on me?" she pulled away  
"No" he began  
"You had someone else watching me? Come on Elliot. What is it?"  
"You don't know what it's like Liv" his voice raised, "one minute you're ready to look down the barel of another IAB confrontation and then your whole world gets pulled from under you"  
"I don't know what it's like?" she became livid at his accusation, "You just left. You didn't answer my calls, you ignored everyone who cared about you. You left me without anything to stand on. How can you possibly say that I can't relate to what you went through, especially after what you put me through?"  
"I'm sorry" he was sarcastic, "I should've thought about you, but a little thing called my wife divorcing me and threatening to take the kids was looming over my head"  
"Where do you think you left me? What was I supposed to do, just throw myself into my work and forget that anything happened, that what you and I had for twelve years meant nothing?"  
"You clearly took care of that" he spat his words at her  
"If Brian did anything, he was around for me"  
"Now it's Brian. Nice" Elliot fumed. "why didn't you spend Valentine's Day with him tonight?"  
"Because" her eyes were fire, "he was with your old flame, Dani Beck!"  
Her words stopped Elliot cold. He remembered Dani's celebratory kiss after they'd caught a perpetrator who'd been pimping out underage girls. Whatever had been there, it was nothing compared to his feelings for Olivia.  
"I – I didn't know" his voice was barely a whisper  
"What? You didn't have your secret agents following him too?" she was still beside herself with anger  
"I wasn't supposed to contact you. Technically, I'm still not" he explained, "it killed me inside not being able to be around for you. Kathy wanted out. She wanted the kids with her full time. I had to fight for any visitation rights with Eli. She didn't even want me to meet him when he got off his school bus" he stopped abruptly, his eyes alight, "his school bus" he repeated. He took Olivia's hand and almost dragged her down the hallway, "Come with me, I have an idea"

Outside 16th Precinct

"Why are you so worried about her?" Dani leaned back in the passenger seat  
"We had history" Brian looked over at her  
"Yeah, I know" she smirked  
"Things didn't end well, and I just got worried"  
"If you hurt me, I will cut you" she smiled  
"Relax baby" he leaned in to kiss her, "She's like a sister"  
"A sister you slept with"  
"Hey, don't F with the bulls if you don't want the horns, right?"

Undercover

"What happened?" Olivia wasn't comprehending Stabler's actions  
"School bus" he rifled through papers, "you said that they all had different bus routes"  
"Right"  
"But did they all have different bus companies"  
"No" she realized. Olivia sifted through papers and found a printed list, "Yellow Bus Transportation" she practically read his mind, "if the bus company is the same, the same driver might be moved from route to route"  
"And he has access to hundreds of children" Elliot finished her sentence  
"He could be anywhere"  
"It's Friday night" Elliot frowned, "he's got nearly three unobstructed days with a child"


	5. Chapter 5

Undercover

"There's nothing more that we can do now" Olivia sighed, "If it's not too much trouble, can you drop me home?"  
"Sure" he nodded absently. His mind was elsewhere, as he tried to mentally unscramble the pieces of the case, "We'll get dropped off outside the restaurant and I can take you back to your place in my car" he sighed  
"At least we were together tonight" she smiled  
"Yeah" he agreed, and took her hand as they walked down the hallway

Outside Olivia's apartment

"I can understand being worried, but this is bordering on stalking" Dani Beck turned to her boyfriend as they sat in Brian's car  
"You're the only one for me" Cassidy's gravely voice crooned in her ear  
"I better be" she gave him a playful punch on his arm  
"You are – you" his voice cut off as he noticed something  
Elliot's car, a nondescript vehicle, pulled up a block away. The passenger got out, but instead of walking down the sidewalk, they came around to the driver's side and talked with whoever was driving the car  
"Come on" Cassidy opened the car door. Beck followed him  
"Please" the passenger asked the driver. She turned when she heard footsteps approaching, "Brian?" she faced her ex boyfriend  
"Liv?" he seemed just as surprised  
"Liv?" Elliot looked at her from the open driver's side window  
"Elliot?" Cassidy's face darkened  
Elliot exited the car and stood protectively next to Olivia, "I see we know everyone's names" he looked from Brian to Dani and back again, he smiled, but not one of friendliness  
"I just wanted to make sure you were ok" Brian offered, his eyes riveted on Elliot's jacket over her dress  
"I'm fine" Olivia's eyes were cold  
"Ok" he relegated himself.  
"It was good to see you again Elliot" Dani tried to smile  
Elliot nodded in her direction. He wasn't angry with her, but now was not the time nor place for banalities or niceties, "Likewise" his gaze was like ice  
"I'll see you around" Brian made his way back to his car. Dani held his hand the entire way  
Olivia turned to Elliot, and they watched as Cassidy's car sped off into the night, "Do you have a few minutes?" she motioned with her head that she wanted him to come to her apartment  
"Sure" he said after a moment. He seemed exhausted, but he followed her up to the apartment where they'd started this night from  
"There" she closed the door behind him, "please, sit down. I can get you some coffee, or a drink" she offered  
"I'm ok" he seemed more relaxed now and leaned back on the couch, "Sorry about your coat"  
"I can pick it up tomorrow when they reopen" she waved it away, "Just give me a minute" she stepped into the other room, the bedroom and shut the door  
"Sure" he glanced around the room, and took notice of the award he'd seen earlier that night, but he also saw the photographs on the wall, others on a writing desk. He looked closer. "No" he thought, "It couldn't be". He stood and walked around to the desk, "Yes" he picked up the photograph. There was no dust on it so it must have been placed recently. The photo showed Elliot and Olivia, young, probably the year she had begun working at SVU. He didn't remember the photo being taken, but he remembered when he's seen it last. They had pretended to be husband and wife to foil a Bulgarian baby-smuggling ring and this photograph had been used, along with others, to help Olivia and him look like a married couple. He smiled to himself and fingered the photo frame. Had it really been so long ago that the photo had been taken?  
"Still don't want that coffee?" Olivia's voice made him turn around. Her evening dress and his jacket had been put aside for a quick shower and a loose sweatshirt paired with fitted yoga pants. He smiled and swallowed, "Sure, I'll take it" he followed her to the kitchenette  
"About tonight" he started, "I know I said some things that came out wrong"  
"No" she shook her head and removed some instant grounds from a plastic tin, "You were justified in your decision. You need to move on"  
Her words were like a slap to the face, "Liv, I didn't mean it like—"  
"Yes you did" she looked right at him, "there's no place for that part of your life anymore and I understand it"  
Inside, she was reeling again, just like she'd been thrown for a toss when she'd originally heard about Elliot's abrupt departure from the entire department. Cragen's words echoed in her ears, "Elliot put his papers in"  
Elliot moved closer, "I can't work there" he began  
"I know" the hurt in her voice was crystal clear  
"But nothing could keep me away from you"  
"Nothing huh?" she stirred the steaming mugs, "I haven't heard from you in three years, and you're saying nothing could keep you away?"  
Elliot sighed, "What can I do? Show up again like nothing happened?"  
"No" she turned and leaned against the counter, "just don't leave me out in the cold like that"  
"You had – everyone else" he rationalized, "Cap, Munch, Fin, the new guys"  
"I needed you" her voice was soft  
"I know" he nodded, "I felt –" he stopped  
"You felt what?"  
"Something was missing" he exhaled, "but I was so deep in work and – it doesn't matter now" he stared at his shoes  
"El" she turned his face so he was looking at her, "just promise me you won't run off like that"  
"Ok" he smiled and she slipped her arms around his neck and brought him closer for a kiss  
They embraced, the coffee cups forgotten on the counter. The kiss began slow but soon became harder, stronger as their combined passions created a roaring fire  
Elliot lifted her onto the countertop and the coffee cups spilled  
"Hey" Olivia jumped off the counter and Elliot saw what had happened  
"Oh" he grabbed at paper towels and dusters to take care of the mess, "Are you ok?"  
"Just my pants" she pulled at the stretch cotton fabric  
"Maybe I can help you with that?" he grinned  
She looked in his eyes, "That can be arranged"  
They kissed again, long, slow and deep  
Olivia pulled away suddenly, "That's it!" she exclaimed  
"What?" Elliot wasn't thinking about anything else but the kiss  
"Arrangement- we can look up the drivers; cross reference drivers with schools that the children went to, who disappeared"  
"The papers" Elliot realized, "they're back in the office"  
"Never mind" she raced to the door, "we can look it up using computers at TARU"  
"Olivia" Elliot hesitated  
"Just this once" her eyes pleaded with him. She glanced at her watch, "It's Saturday. If he's taken a child, they don't have much time left"


	6. Chapter 6

Technical Assistance Response Unit

"Sure I can look at that" Ruben Morales swiveled back in his office chair and faced the computer monitors again  
"Thanks" Olivia smiled grimly, "There's not a lot of time left"  
"Understood" he replied, not moving his eyes away from the screens  
"I'll be right back" she stepped away and took out her phone. She dialed a number and waited for the other end to be answered, "Elliot"  
"Right here, my lady" he sat up in the passenger side of her car  
"I still don't see why you didn't come upstairs"  
"I have my reasons" he sighed, "Let's just find this creep before he does something to someone else"  
Olivia grudgingly agreed and walked back to Morales to see how far he'd progressed  
"Out of the drivers that they employ, here's a list of the ones that match the kidnap victims' schools, and coincide with the timings that they were taken" he pointed to the screen  
"How many of them are in the system?" she meant how many had arrest records  
"Eight" Morales tapped some keys and the list shortened  
"How many went after kids?"  
"Five"  
"How many have similar MOs?"  
"Two" he narrowed the search, "but this guy is already doing time for another job"  
"Thanks" she took the paper and raced downstairs where Elliot waited  
"Let's see what's he gave us" Stabler reached for the paper, "Ray Charles Lee"  
Olivia pulled it back, "After this, we are going to talk about what's going on" she emphasized the word "are"  
"Ok" he held up his hands in mock surrender, "Fine. Let's just find this creep"  
"You don't have to tell me twice" she gunned the engine and the car sped off

Moments felt like hours as the car raced through the night. Elliot looked over to Olivia, "Come back with me"  
"What" she glanced over to him; she turned her attention back to the road both for safety as well as to shield herself from his question  
"I said, come back with me" he repeated  
"Where?"  
"I didn't want to say this earlier, but since we're in the middle of things" he began, "I'll be leaving New York"  
"Leaving? Where are you going?"  
"I've been looking for work, real work" he tried to answer her question, "You were right. I couldn't stay working in that hovel. Cragen won't be there for long- he's got his retirement to enjoy, and I—" he stopped abruptly  
"And you?" Olivia looked over. The car was paused at a red light  
He look into her eyes, "Like you said, I moved on" his tone was matter of fact  
"Oh" she looked crestfallen, then shook the feeling away  
"Just think about it, when this is over" he offered  
"I—" she sighed. The light changed and she pressed the accelerator

The car pulled in outside a nondescript apartment complex. Benson and Stabler entered, and Benson flashed her badge. The front desk attendant, a young man who looked scarcely old enough to begin shaving, hurriedly ushered them to the apartment door  
"No, I didn't see him bring anyone in" he faltered with the keys, "I'm really not supposed to do this"  
"It's either open the door, or I break it down" Stabler was firm  
"Ok" he jangled the keys as he opened the door  
"So much for a quiet entry" Olivia shook her head  
The pair burst in, "Police!" Olivia announced  
Weapons drawn, they searched the premises  
"Nothing" Elliot frowned. There was no sign of the driver or any child.  
"Maybe he didn't take anyone?" Olivia hoped aloud  
"Perhaps" Elliot mused aloud, "Wait" he turned and called to the night desk attendant  
"Yeah?" he looked up from his shoes  
"Does this place have a basement?"  
"Just for storage" he shrugged  
"Take us there. Now" Elliot barked  
The attendant showed them the basement. The pair descended the stairway, their weapons drawn. They made their way slowly, glancing side to side to see anyone in there peripheral view.  
"There" Olivia whispered, and motioned to a scraggly haired man bent over a footlocker  
"Ray Lee?" she called, her pistol aimed at his head  
"Huh?" he turned around, and gave the pair a full view of an array of bottles and vials on the closed footlocker  
"Put your hands on your head and stand up slowly" Elliot warned  
"I did nothing" he defended himself  
"Sure you did" Elliot clasped Lee's hands behind his back and Olivia handed him the handcuffs  
"There's enough of this potion to give amnesia a to herd of elephants" Olivia looked at the bottles  
"Come on" Elliot snapped the handcuffs on Lee's wrists and forced the man up the stairs while Olivia called for backup  
"You might want to get out of here" Olivia urged Elliot as they waited for the others to arrive  
"Come over to my apartment" he scribbled down the address and slipped it to her  
"When you two are done with your date, I'd like some attention here" Lee piped up  
"Sure" Elliot bent Lee's head down, "How's that?"  
"Ok" Lee struggled to speak  
"Great" Elliot let the perpetrator's neck go, saw that Olivia had him subdued and walked down the street until he disappeared from Olivia's view


	7. Chapter 7

Elliot's apartment

Olivia knocked on the door. Elliot opened it with one hand, his other hand toweled his hair dry. She raised an eyebrow at his appearance, black briefs and nothing else  
"If you can warrant a hot shower and a change of clothes, then so can I" he smirked  
"Some change" she referred to his attire  
"Let me slip into something less comfortable" he joked and walked into the other room  
"Nothing I haven't seen before" she smiled, and remembered one of Elliot's undercover cases gone wrong when she'd shown up at his door, concerned, only to have two goons show up and demand to know what was going on. She'd pretended to be a lady of the evening, but the pair had promptly shooed her out of the apartment  
Elliot seemed to be able to read her mind, "Relax, nobody's kicking you out tonight" he called from the other room, "Come in, I'm just putting on a shirt"  
Olivia walked into the other room, the bedroom. Photos of Elliot's five children stood amongst the items on the dresser, but what caught her eye was a photo of the two of them, Elliot had a goatee and Olivia's hair was short. She realized that the photo had been taken during her first year of SVU, but she also remembered her and Elliot's undercover assignment where they'd had to play a married couple to put a crimp in a Bulgarian baby-smuggling ring.  
"I—uh" she stopped as the realization struck her that this was the second of two photos that they'd used. The first, sat on a writing desk in her apartment. "Had he kept this for so long?" she wondered aloud  
"Yeah" he grinned, having emerged from the bathroom. The shirt he'd put on wasn't much more than a tank top  
"So much for getting dressed" she looked at him  
"I'm not going anywhere" he shrugged  
"We need to talk" she sat on the bed. He took a seat next to her, "Seeing you has been – well, it's something I never thought would happen again" she was candid, "You can call it God, or fate or the powers that be" she continued, "but somehow, two grade school kids managed to get us together"  
Elliot grinned, "I guess he gets that from me" he joked but then became serious, "Liv, if it wasn't for you, he wouldn't be here"  
"I know" she understood his meaning. She looked at him, "I didn't think you'd ever come back"  
"Come back?" he didn't understand  
"This, us" she tried to explain, "You remember Cassidy?"  
"Frommage" he laughed and remembered Cassidy's courtroom gaffe  
"Yeah" she sighed, "and you remember my – well, my tryst with him"  
"I do" he nodded solemnly, "Liv, it's in the past. We all do things that we regret"  
"I uh—I did some other thing" she explained, "Cassidy was deep undercover for Vice, and well, one thing led to another and we were dating for awhile"  
"Oh" Elliot averted his gaze from her eyes  
"El, you were married. You know that nothing could've happened between us, especially not back then"  
"I know" he sighed. He started to say something, but stopped, and left the words unspoken  
Olivia continued. There were things she had to tell him before anything else happened, "Maybe inside, I always knew that I was just – that he was -" she looked at him, forced herself to look in his eyes as she spoke, "he was a consolation prize"  
"Brian was a good cop" Elliot remembered the fresh faced Cassidy who might've seemed more at home in a college classroom than in the sex crimes unit, "he just couldn't handle it there"  
"None of us can" Olivia countered  
"That's true" he agreed  
"Well?" she asked him  
"I – well, what?" he didn't know what she was asking of him  
"Where do we go from here?"  
Elliot sighed, "Liv, after I left, things went from bad to worse at home. If you're having marital problems, having another kid doesn't make them better. It doesn't make them worse, but it certainly doesn't help. When Kathy found out that I didn't have a job anymore, not one that I could explain to her, she filed for divorce, and this time it was final" he confessed, "Try explaining that to a judge that you don't make enough money to take care of your kids when you can't even actually explain under oath what it is you do"  
"Your cover would've been blown" she realized aloud  
"It would have" he nodded, "but I couldn't do it. So they awarded her full custody. Dickie and Elizabeth are in college, Kathleen's finally found a job, Maureen's been on her own for so long. Eli was the only one who really needed me"  
Olivia felt selfish, but her mouth voiced her thoughts, "What about me?"  
Elliot stared at her, his face a mix of anger and astonishment, "I've always needed you"  
"Spare me the placations" she waved off his sentiments  
"Olivia" his voice was firm but soft, "Do you know what you mean to me?"  
"Do you know what you mean to me?" she wiped an errant tear that simply would not stay in her eye, "I felt so lost, so alone after you left. You never even told me anything. Didn't I matter to you?" she recalled her breakdown in the interrogation room, away from her former captain and her detective brethren, where she'd cried wracking sobs over Elliot's departure  
"More than you will ever know" he pulled her into a hug. She clung to him the way a child holds onto a transitional object. It was so unlike her. Elliot spoke softly to her, his mouth next to her ear as they held each other, "I must've replayed your phone message a hundred times. You could never stalk me" he smiled. He knew she had questions and he did his best to answer them, "I just couldn't tell you anything. Not just you, but I couldn't tell anyone what I was doing; I had to let the world think that I'd left the only job that meant something to me and the people that I cared about" he sighed, "Kathy called me spineless, as though I was afraid of Tucker and his IAB circus. My son—" he referred to Dickie, "said that I left because he knew I wanted to sleep with you" he choked back something in his voice, "Maureen said I was incompetent as a police officer and as a father"  
"That's not true" Olivia reassured him, "You're a great father. Your kids know that, deep down they do"  
"Eli cried and cried just because he didn't understand what was going on" Elliot continued, "Kathleen wanted to know how she could help"  
"Your kids love you" Olivia told him. Inside, she wondered what life would have been like had it been her and Elliot, married, raising a family. She dashed the thoughts from her mind as quickly as they had come since a new question arose to her frontal lobe, "Why are you leaving?"  
Elliot pulled back and looked at her, "A lot of things, I suppose. Kathy has full custody of the kids, and other than a handful of times, I hardly see Eli, and other than Kathleen, the rest want nothing to do with me and have moved on with their own lives" he sighed, "I thought about moving away from New York altogether, starting over on my own"  
"Where would you go?"  
"I hear Los Angeles is in need of assistance" he gave her a grin as an idea appeared, "come with me" he said impulsively  
"To LA?"  
"The Captain is gone, and you'd said yourself at dinner how it's difficult moving from player to coach"  
Olivia turned the idea over in her mind, "I could, and it might help them if there was someone else busting their chops instead of me" she smiled at the voiced thought, "Munch is gone" she blurted  
"Gone?" Elliot momentarily feared the worst  
"He was transferred to the DA's office"  
"Oh"  
"We've got a new ADA, Barba"  
"How is he?" Elliot was genuinely interested  
"He's good, but I still miss Casey"  
"We all do"  
"What we all, who else is there now?"  
"Nobody. I guess you're right" he mused aloud  
"Where does all this leave us?"  
Elliot leaned back against the pillows and comforter, and Olivia leaned into his arms. They lay together, not saying anything, and just enjoyed each other's company and listened to each other breathe.


End file.
